Coachella 2013: Hanni El Khatib, on medium heat

0

[Today, in plenty of time for you Weekend Two-ers, we will finish up posting our Coachella Sunday coverage, delayed a bit due our editor’s losing the battle with Sunday’s windstorm. Thanks for following along, and here goes:]

coachella13-hannielkhatib3

Who: Hanni El Khatib in the Gobi Tent
In 3 or Fewer Words: All about context.
Memorable Because: “Thanks for waking up early,” the L.A.-based garage-blues rocker told a decent-for-1:15 crowd. “I’m just getting start myself.” There was truth in that – El Khatib makes scuzzy rock for dark places, not for sunny, windy Sunday afternoons. Having bared his teeth as a two-piece on his 2011 debut album, he’s doubled his army now, but his quartet’s tent excursion got off to a tentative start. Short of begging the sound engineer to make his guitar hurt, El Khatib could do nothing but turn up the temperature himself. The sharp riffs of “Loved One” helped, though it was not until his current single, “Family,” that the foursome appeared a full throttle. El Khatib’s new album is not all scorched-earth, as the poppy, tender new song “Penny” indicates, but it’s nice to be there and get singed when he does turn the flame up.
What I Would Tell My Friend Who Was at Cloud Nothings: It’s just a different brand of heat.
– K.B.